Beowulf! A Warrior Exposed.

A cry for help sounds. A woman is being mugged. The thief will surely escape. But wait... is that a mild mannered journalist stripping off his clothes...? Where is this familiar series of events from? You guessed it: Superman. In transition from citizen to crime-fighter, it seems heroes have a strange obsession with getting into the nude. Beowulf, warrior of Geatland,  produces similar action when fighting a cruel monster, Grendel,  for the Danish people-- he boasts that he will fight Grendel wielding no weapon and wearing no armor. It seems to me that this habit of saviors fighting exposed is quite symbolic. The naked hero Beowulf presents himself fully, purely one might say, dressed as he was the day he was born. It would seem this birthday suit was in fact a symbol for the valor and selflessness involved with putting one's life on the line for the sake of the people around them-- completely vulnerable, a hero to the core.